


At Once I Knew, I Was Not Magnificent

by emperorpenguin (dortmundbvbbabe)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mat isn't an Islander anymore, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-16 21:21:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15446127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dortmundbvbbabe/pseuds/emperorpenguin
Summary: Tito hated that quote that every journalist now seemed to resurrect, “It isn’t about being on his wing or not. For me, I just can’t imagine hockey without Mat. I wouldn’t want to.” It had been true at the time, but now the words just taunted him. He had wanted to spend his career with Mat, but Mat didn't want to spend it with him. Without warning, Mat made a deal to join the Maple Leafs, wanting to play along side Auston and in the process throwing away every thing that he and Tito had had. But despite Tito's efforts to ignore Mat, he's forced to spend time with him when they both attend Chabot's wedding and Tito has to talk to Mat. It turns out, the deal with the Maple Leafs wasn't as clear cut as Tito had thought.





	1. Chapter 1

     There was a quote that when Tito said it hadn’t been significant at the time. He’d said in the heat of the moment, halfway through a long form interview with ESPN that had covered a wide array of subjects. He’d talked about his annual Spikeball tournament, the Islander’s latest season that had ended in the first round of the playoffs against the Rangers, and of course Mat. Since that first season, the whole hockey world had picked up on their friendship and since then, Tito had only had a handful of interviews in which he didn’t talk about in some capacity. But this interview, out of all of them, had lasted the test of time. The words had been repeated back to him time and time again and what had once been a forgettable interview had been burned into his mind, words that he couldn’t escape. “It isn’t about being on his wing or not. For me, I just can’t imagine hockey without Mat. I wouldn’t want to.” When he’d said then they were true, even now, they were probably still true although he’d be less likely to admit it. He hadn’t wanted to play without Mat, he still didn’t want to, but he’d thought that it was true for Mat as well. He’d thought that they were a package deal, that he’d want to finish his career alongside Mat and that Mat would want to finish his career alongside Tito. But that hadn’t been true, because when Mat’s contract had ended, he hadn’t talked to Tito at least not before it was all over and shit had hit the fan. Instead Tito woke up one day, his phone vibrating with missed calls and texts to the point where he wondered if someone had died or been in an accident.

     Then the official notification came from the NHL app. Mathew Barzal signs five-year 50 million dollar contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was JT all over again. _Did you know?_ Leddy had asked.

Tito’s response had been terse. _Nope._

That had been a year ago and Tito still entered the locker room expecting to see Mat there. Worse yet, he’d fielded even more questions about Mat and their friendship and the move and Tito had to pretend like he was still the same supportive friend from before the trade. PR had made them all reblog Mat’s open letter that he’d penned after the deal was made, thanking the Islanders’ fans, the management, his teammates. At least that’s what Tito had assumed it was about, he wasn’t quite sure since he never actually read the letter.

To Mat’s credit, he’d reached out to Tito several times. He’d tried calling right after news of the deal broke, but that went in the deep dark recesses of Tito’s voicemail. He’d tried texting as well, but Tito ignored them. There were even rumors for about a week that Mat was in the Quebec area during the offseason and a small part of him, the part that had been in love with Mat for years had hoped that Mat was there to see him. But if that was the reason he’d been in Quebec, Mat never showed up.

It was fine. Tito didn’t care, or at least that’s what he told himself. Maybe one day he’d believe it. He’d tried to exorcise the part of his life that Mat had lived in. The Islanders hadn’t needed Tavares and they didn’t need Mat. One thing was certain, even though the team had said that they were planning on winning a cup- and that was true- the last year had been dedicated to proving that they were just fine without Mat. They closed up ranks, Tito finding himself now on the first line. They didn’t win the cup, but neither had Mat with the Maple Leafs and there was something gratifying in that, that maybe the thought that things would be better in Toronto had been crushed by their early playoffs outing. It was funny how things had changed, Tito had been happy for Mat’s success while he was by his side, but now on opposing teams, Tito couldn’t help but feel a little happiness at the Maple Leafs’ struggle.

But for as much as he tried to avoid Mat, and he went out of his way to nowadays, he wasn’t able to avoid him completely. The only question was to what extent he would go out of his way to avoid dealing with Mat and the feelings that he resurrected. He stared down at the formal invitation to Chabby’s wedding that had come in the mail. He’d received one of the small Save-the-date cards before the trade, the wedding had come after a long engagement that everyone had seen coming. Chabby had asked him to be a groomsman and Tito had momentarily hesitated before accepting. Chabby hadn’t said anything but Tito was certain that Mat had gotten an invitation as well and as much as he didn’t want to see Mat or talk to Mat or deal with him in any capacity, he wasn’t so petty as to miss one of his best friend’s weddings because of it. So Tito had accepted the groomsman duties with the understanding that he really just had to show up, he wasn’t the best man, didn’t have to plan the bachelor party, he just had to be there and that’s exactly what he’d do.

He’d optioned bringing a date, there was nobody serious in the picture, there hadn’t been for years, but there were a few friends that would have probably been willing to go with him. So he was going alone and he’d have to see Mat for the first time outside of hockey and everything would be fine. Or so he kept telling himself.

 

 

The weekend of the wedding approached much faster than Tito had wanted or expected. During the week leading up to it, Tito could feel Francis’s cautious gaze drift towards him during their workouts. Tito knew what his concerns were, the same concerns that were reflected in his mother’s and father’s measured questioning about the weekend. After the first shock of the deal and Mat leaving, he’d become a taboo subject in the Beauvillier household, always hinted at, but never directly talked about. Frank had been ballistic after Mat left, sure they were friends, but Frank was first and foremost a brother and he knew how important Mat had been to Tito.

“It’ll be fine,” Tito said after he got frustrated of Frank’s concerned looks, “It’s just a few days and I won’t even have to see him that much.”

“Do you really think that he’ll leave it alone?” Frank asked.

“He’s self-centered but not enough to let it detract from Chabby’s wedding. He’ll do his thing and I’ll do mine.”

“Just… I hope it goes well,” Frank said.

“Me too,” Tito said.

He’d arrived a few days earlier than most of the other guests to help Chabby out a little and go to the bachelor party. It was a pretty demure night, they got drink, grilled a little and chatted for a while. Tito knew most of the other guys a mix between hockey players and childhood friends that had come to various tournaments over the years.

“He’s coming, you know. You gonna be okay?” Chabby asked when they were all heading to bed. That’s how Tito knew that his friend was drunk. He wasn’t sure if anyone had actually told Chabby not to talk about Mat or if his friend had just figured it out, but they’d never talked about Mat in the past year.

“We’re fine. It’s fine,” Tito said. “Besides, it’s not about us, this is your weekend.”

Chabby looked like he wanted to say something more but decided against it, “Just, I want you to have fun, too.”

“I am,” Tito said.

The rehearsal went off without a hitch, Tito stood where he was told too, but at this point he’d attended so many weddings he knew how things would go. It was at the rehearsal dinner that things started to go downhill. He hadn’t seen him initially. Tito was shepherded to a table with all the groomsmen, close to Chabby and the bride and the bridesmaid. But when he stood up to grab a drink, he saw him. It was like his eyes gravitated towards him. They always had. Mat hadn’t noticed him, or if he did, he wasn’t paying attention as he was rapt in conversation with someone Tito didn’t recognize. And then, as if sensing Tito watching him, Mat’s head turned and he looked at him.

The summer months had done him well. He looked more rested and had started packing on muscle for the new season. He was still as gorgeous as ever and Tito hated the way the butterflies in his stomach betrayed him. Despite everything, despite all the hurt and the anger, he still was head over heels in love with Mat Barzal. Thankfully, he could look away with the excuse that he had to fill his plate with food. He knew, though, sometime during this weekend he’d probably come face to face with Mat, but for now he could postpone that interaction.

There were a few toasts, some embarrassing baby pictures that someone had set to sappy music and put on a slide show, but Tito felt vaguely uneasy knowing Mat was just a few tables away. He was probably drinking one too many beers, though not too many that Chabby would have to worry about him being hungover for the wedding, and tried to forget about Mat. It hadn’t worked all year long so why did he think it would work now that Mat was in the same room as him?

And then, when he was heading to the hotel after most of the guests had filtered out to get ready for a busy wedding day, Mat approached him. Tito wouldn’t have been surprised if Mat had deliberately waited for him to leave to be able to talk.

“Hey,” Mat said. His hands were shoved in his dress pants’ pockets and he didn’t dare meet Tito’s gaze, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be here.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to miss my best friend’s wedding just because you were here,” Tito snapped.

“That’s not what I meant,” Mat said.

“Look, I’m not thrilled that you’re here, you’re right about that, but you are not going to ruin this weekend for me or more importantly for him. So, for the next two days we’ll just ignore each other and then we can head back home and that’ll be it.”

“Is that what you want?” Mat asked. “You want to just keep ignoring me?”

“Please, it’s mutual,” Tito said.

“What? I don’t want to ignore you,” Mat said. “I used to be your best friend.”

“Well, you certainly didn’t feel that way when you ignored me making a deal to head to Toronto.”

Mat sucked in a breath and Tito knew his words had cut in the way that he’d intended for them.  

“When I decided to go to Toronto I knew I might lose some friends, I knew that, but I never thought that I’d lose you,” Mat said. The words were polished, even though his voice trembled slightly, as if Mat had practiced this conversation again and again.

“I don’t want to talk about this with you,” Tito said. He picked up his pace towards the hotel in anticipation for the comfort and shelter of his own room.

“Then when can we talk about it?” Mat asked, “Because ever since that deal was made I’ve been wanting to talk to you, please, we owe it to our friendship.”

“Friends?” Tito asked, “We were never friends, Mat.”

“You know that’s not true,” Mat said.

“Isn’t it? Because friends don’t find out about a trade through the fucking NHL app. Friends aren’t blindsided when their best friend decides to leave.

“You treated me the same way that JT treated the rest of the team, except it was worse because I knew that I was just another teammate to him, and I was okay with that, I knew that was what our relationship was. But you, you treated me just like any other teammate, that we hadn’t been friends for over ten years, that we hadn’t been fucking each other twice a week, or whatever the fuck we were doing. You treated me like I meant nothing to you and that’s exactly how I plan to treat you,” Tito said.

“I-” Mat started although he cut himself off. He hadn’t expected the anger and hurt to be so raw. He hadn’t expected Tito to lash out at him in a way he’d never seen before. But then again, Mat had underestimated how difficult this would be to be fixed, if it was even possible.

 

Tito woke up with the hangover that he’d expected and the memories of the conversation that he’d had with Mat that he’d hoped to forget. _How’s the wedding?_ Frank had texted. Tito knew that he was really asking how things were with Mat.

_Fine. We talked last night._

_?????_

_And it’s fine._ Tito replied.

He took a couple Advil, hoping that that would cure his hangover. The rest of the morning was busy as the groomsmen headed into Chabby’s hotel room and got ready. Tito fiddled with his cuff links as they got ready to head out for the church. “Nervous?” Tito asked.

“No,” Chabby said with a grin, “I’m really happy.”

“I’m glad,” Tito said. And he was.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Tito tuned out for most of it anyways, he just had to stand there and look happy. He could do that, but he hated how every time he looked out to the crowd, Mat drew him in like a magnet. Mat had glanced back at him forcing a smile that turned out more like a grimace. Good. It was all the better if Mat felt bad about what they’d become, about the conversation last night. He’d once wondered if things were different, if they too could have been like Chabby and his now-wife. Tito doubted it, but the thought had once made him happy. Now, like most things about Mat it was just bitter.

 

After the ceremony, they were crammed into a limo with a fridge stocked full of champagne and liquor and were off to take pictures. The photographer organized them into all different permutations and arrangements. All groomsmen, all bridesmaids, the bride’s family, Tito just shuffled over to where he was told to be.

And then the reception began and this was the last time that Tito would have to see Mat until the season. He just had to make it through a meal and a couple of dances and then he could head back home in the morning.

Chabby’s best man stood up and gave a toast, something about finding your soulmate and never letting go and it was funny and sappy and sweet and Chabby stood up to hug him after it was over. Mat was sitting at a table with some of the other hockey players and if Tito could just avoid that table he’d be fine.

He was in the process of grabbing a drink from the open bar after he’d danced with a few bridesmaids when Luc sided up next to him. “Hey, how are you?” Luc asked.

“Good, good to see you,” Tito said.

“We missed you at Worlds,” Luc said.

“Yeah, I was coming off of a shoulder injury,” Tito said.

“But you’re better now?” Luc asked.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Tito said.

“You seen Mat?” Of course Luc would ask.

“Yup.”

“He’s had a little too much fun, I think,” Luc said as he nodded over to where Mat was somewhat slumped in his chair.

“Really, because it looks like he’s having the opposite of fun,” Tito said.

“And whose fault is that?” Luc asked.

“His own.”

“I have a very sad Mathew Barzal on my hands and I know it was because of you,” Luc said.

“No, it was because of the consequences of his own actions that he now has to deal with,” Tito said.

Luc just sighed, “Look, do you think you could take him back to his room? I would, but there’s a girl I’ve been talking to all night and…”

“And it has to be me?” Tito asked.

“You’ve taken care of him before when he was like this,” Luc said.

“Things were different then,” Tito said.

“Not everything,” Luc reminded him and Tito wasn’t quite sure to what Luc was referring to exactly.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Tito asked.

“Fuck, it’s not a divorce, Tito. And will you stop trying to pretend that it’s just him that affected by all this because I know you miss him and I know you miss whatever the fuck you had with him.”

“We didn’t have anything, that’s kind of the point.”

“Really? Do you even know why he went to Toronto?” Luc asked.

“Money? A chance at the cup? I don’t fucking know,” Tito said.

“Ask him,” Luc said.

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Tito said sarcastically. “Okay, let’s go Mat.”

Mat was still able to walk just fine, albeit a little slow and crookedly. For a while, as they walked the half block from where the reception was to where the hotel was, they walked in silence. Tito would have been walking faster, with a purpose, if he thought that Mat could keep up. The streetlights shone down on Mat’s face and Tito couldn’t help but notice how sad Mat looked. He’d become accustomed to all different types of drunk Mats, but he was never really sad. The closest thing that Tito could think of was when they were kicked out of the playoffs in the second round two years ago. They’d all gone out for drinks before they were set to start vacation, most of the guys in a pretty good mood all things considered. Mat and Tito had been the last ones left, that was back when they were _something_.

“Fuck, I really thought that this was our year,” Mat said.

“There’s next year,” Tito said even though he knew that they were bound to lose some good guys during the summer to free agency.

“That’s what we say every year,” Mat said.

“Yeah, but maybe this time it’ll be true,” Tito said. He hadn’t thought much about that conversation after it ended, but now he wondered if even then Mat had thought about leaving. But the drunk Mat that was walking next to him was definitely sad. And Tito hated the way that it was instinct to try and make Mat feel better because Mat Barzal wasn’t meant to be sad.

“I fucked things up,” Mat said, “I fucked things up and I don’t know how to make things better.”

“You didn’t fuck things up,” Tito said.

“I did and even now, I fucked things up at the wedding dragging you out here to walk me home like I’m a fucking rookie,” Mat said.

“It’s fine,” Tito said.

“It’s not, nothing’s fine, I hate it in Toronto, you hate me, this wedding sucked, and everything’s fucked up.”

A shock of anger hit Tito when he heard that Mat wasn’t happy in Toronto. An ugly mix of glee and anger swirled together as if to say _Hah! You deserve it, it’s what you chose._

“I don’t hate you, Mat,” Tito said.

“You don’t?”

“No, I don’t think I could ever hate you,” Tito said. They were in the hotel, in the elevator, just a few more floors that Tito had to deal with.

Mat turned to him, the look of surprise glaringly clear on his face.

“You broke my heart,” Tito said with a shrug as if that answered everything. He knew the weight of his words, and they were true in every sense of it. And then Mat started to cry. Tito hadn’t been expecting that, he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever seen Mat cry before. He hadn’t even been sure that Mat did cry, or at least in front of anyone. But here, in the middle of the fucking Hilton hotel on the eleventh floor, Mat Barzal was crying.

“Oh fuck,” Tito said. “Where’s your key?”

Mat fumbled with his suit pocket and handed the key over to Tito. “Okay, come on, give me your jacket.” He held out a glass of water and Mat downed it.

Tito wasn’t even sure if Mat was crying because he was sad or because he was drunk, he just wanted it to stop.

“It was supposed to be different,” Mat sniffled, “We were supposed to be okay.”

“It’s… it is what it is,” Tito said, “Just go to sleep.”

“No, because then you’ll be gone,” Mat said.

“Just sleep, Mat,” Tito sighed. Mat didn’t kick him out and even though he was trying to fight it, Mat succumbed to sleep. For a few minutes, Tito stayed in the oversized chair in Mat’s room. It had been a year and Tito still wasn’t over him, he didn’t know why Mat left, or why Mat still cared, or why Mat was so upset about the thought that Tito would leave in the morning. But he was certain of two things: Mat would be the death of him and this time, it was his turn to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

Tito left earlier than he had originally planned after a night of very little sleep. He didn’t want to deal with the goodbyes in the morning or the awkward brunch where he’d have to see Mat again and deal with what Mat had said. He couldn’t. Getting through this weekend had been one thing, but he couldn’t deal with his emotions let alone Mat’s like this.

So Tito texted Luc, Chabby was already off to his honeymoon so he didn’t really care who stayed and who left and headed back home.

He slept for a few hours when he got back crashing right onto his bed and not even bothering going under the covers. There was a family dinner that night, he knew that his parents and brother just wanted to check in on him under the guise of hearing about the wedding to make sure he was alright after everything and he would be.

When it came time to head over to his parents’ house, he didn’t feel rested, but he did feel a little better.

“How was the wedding?” His mom asked. The whole family knew Chabby after years of Team Canada tournaments and they adored him.

“It was nice,” Tito shrugged, picking at the food she was finishing up cooking. “You know, just a regular wedding. He was so happy though, it was kind of gross.”

His mother rolled her eyes and flicked his hand away scolding him for eating before supper was ready.

“What? I missed your food, you think that catered professional chefs hold a candle to you?” Tito said.

His mother rolled her eyes and wielded a spoon at him, “You better watch it or you’re you won’t get supper.”

“It was a compliment,” Tito whined but grinned.

“At least set the table,” his mother said.

“Oui, _Maman_ ,” Tito laughed as he grabbed the plates and put them around the table.

They were in the middle of eating dinner when his father cleared his throat, “So were there a lot of guys from Team Canada?” Tito heard the unspoken question. _Was Mat Barzal there?_

“PL was there, some guys from the Q, couple from the Sens,” Tito said, “I don’t know, I was mostly with the wedding party so I just saw a few guys.”

“I’m surprised that Mat didn’t come,” Frank said and if looks could kill, he would have turned into a pile of ashes right there.

“He did,” Tito shrugged.

“How was he?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know, don’t care,” Tito lied. His family didn’t need to know about the conversations or fragments of them that they’d had. It wasn’t even like they’d both been sober at the same time.

“You didn’t talk to him?” His mother pressed, and he didn’t need to look at her to know she was disappointed in him.

“What does everyone want from me? We go to the same wedding and then everything is supposed to go back to the way it was? We’re supposed to be best friends, oh, maybe we should have planned on going on vacation together, maybe I should go text him,” Tito said with sarcasm and hostility dripping in his voice. It wasn’t even his family’s fault, but their questions had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. For once, the usually loud Beauvillier family was shocked into silence.

 “Anthony!” His father shouted, but Tito just shook his head and grabbed his half-eaten plate and cleaned it off.

“I’m going, thanks for dinner,” he muttered and headed back to his own place. It had been a few years since he’d bought his own place, just a few kilometers away from his parents but it was rare occasions like this that he was so grateful for having his own place. By NHL standards, it was a small place, but Tito was really only here for three months of the year so he hadn’t needed a large place. He’d bought it with Mat in mind. They’d never really talked about it, but before Mat had left, he usually spent the better part of a month in Quebec in Tito’s house. Tito never said that he’d gotten a three bedroom place in case Mat’s parents and sister ever wanted to come for a visit. He never said that he’d gotten a place with good ventilation in the kitchen in case Mat had any of his cooking mishaps. Now, though, he was glad that he’d never said those things; it just seemed stupid.

He changed into a loose pair of shorts and grabbed his running shoes. Running was easy, there was too much for Tito to focus on to get lost in his head, he watched his steps, made sure to keep up his pace, focus on his breathing; it was easy. He wasn’t sure how long he ran, but from the way his legs ached when he got back to his place, he thought it was pushing his limits. It hadn’t fixed things, but the run sure had given Tito a break and that was all he had asked for.

“How far did you go?” A voice asked from his living room.

“Fuck,” Tito yelped when he turned to see Frank camped out on his couch just waiting for him. “Get out.”

Frank just rolled his eyes, “Mom and Dad are pissed.”

“I’m not in the mood,” Tito warned.

“Look, I know you’ll feel bad about that in the morning and whatever so I’m not here about that, but do you know why we’re pushing this?” Frank asked.

“Because you’re annoying?” Tito said ready for Frank to leave so that he could stop talking about this and take a shower.

“Because you need him,” Frank said, “We all see that you’re not yourself without him. And look, I don’t pretend like I understand your relationship, but I think there’s still something there, Mom and Dad still do too and you’re miserable without him.”

“He doesn’t need me, though. It doesn’t matter how much I need him or want him. He made it clear when he left without a word. We were together for five fucking years and he just fucking decided to go be a Maple Leaf.”

Frank sighed, “You know, I was really pissed when he left, especially without telling you, I was so furious because what he had done hurt you and you were fucking miserable after that news came out. And for a while, I thought it would be okay, because you’d turned that anger and hurt into playing some of your best hockey. But you weren’t happy, you aren’t happy and I don’t know if cutting Mat out of your life will ever make you happy.”

“He cut me out,” Tito said.

“Are you kidding me? I know that Mat did a lot of things wrong. I know that he picked probably every wrong choice to make with you over the past year, I get that, but you can’t actually think that Mat cut you out. If he did would he be asking about you every…”

“You’re talking to him?” Tito scoffed. “Oh my God, you’re still talking with him.”

Frank had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

“Look, he wasn’t just your friend, okay? And I knew it would upset you so I never told you, but yeah, we’re still in touch.”

“What the fuck?” Tito yelled.

“He’s fucking miserable,” Frank said, “And so are you and why are you both miserable when you could be happy, together. Look, I don’t necessarily believe in signs or soulmates or whatever the fuck it is. But I always thought that if they did exist you and Mat were certainly meant for each other, maybe not right now, but it the future, it was always going to be you and him.”

“I thought that too,” Tito said, “I guess we were both wrong, though.”

“God, you’re so stubborn. Okay, just think about this, are you okay with whatever closure you got at the wedding? Because if you are, then that’s great and maybe you can move forward. But I know you and I know Mat and I know you both are too stubborn for your own good and beneath all that hurt and anger and betrayal that you feel, I think you know that Mat’s it for you. And I just don’t want you to throw out your own happiness over a grudge.”

“So what? What do you want me to do, since apparently you have all the answers?” Tito snapped.

Frank had the decency to ignore the biting tone and said, “Talk to him, just the two of you, take however long you need, but actually talk and listen to each other, don’t just go around and around in circles trying to hurt each other.”

Tito just glared at him, “I have to shower.”

“Okay, okay, just think about what I said,” Frank said as he walked himself out.

Tito sighed. He doubted that any amount of talking could fix the rift between them. So much of their friendship and whatever sort of relationship they had ended up with all went back to hockey and that had now been taken from them. But he was tired of being angry and hurt all the time. It wasn’t in his nature to hold grudges but Mat’s decision- and his lack of communication- had cut so deeply that holding onto that grudge was about the only thing keeping him together.

He grabbed his phone and texted Luc, _Mat still at his parent’s house_.

The reply was almost instant, _No, he has his own place now, up by the lake._ An address not to far from where Mat’s parents lived followed. _U going?_

 _Don’t know_. Tito said, but the truth, even if he didn’t know it at that point, was that his mind was already made up.

 _You should. He was really fucked up after the wedding_. Tito could read between the lines that it was him who fucked things up then.

            _Maybe_.

            Sure enough, though. By the end of the week, Tito had an open ticket to Vancouver. It took him over eight hours from start to finish and by the time he was driving his rental car down the winding woodsy road to where Mat’s place was said to be, he just wanted to face plant into a bed.

            His stomach turned over as Mat’s house came into view. It was nice, but not over the top, if anything the price Mat had certainly paid for it was because of the lakeside view and the privacy the woods afforded him. It was still close enough to a town that it wasn’t too remote. There were a couple of hotels that Tito had passed not to far from here where he could crash if Mat didn’t let him stay.

            He sighed when he saw a car parked in the driveway. Mat was home. There was no getting out of this now. He didn’t bother with his suitcase, that would come after he talked to Mat, but the walk to his front door seemed to take forever.

            He knocked, waiting for Mat to open up. For the fortieth time since he’d boarded that plane, Tito questioned what he was doing. There was still time to head back to the car and go to a hotel for the evening, but then Tito heard footsteps get closer to the door and he knew there wasn’t time for him to rethink this.

            The door swung open and Mat just stared at him. He didn’t look angry or averse to Tito’s presence, but he didn’t look particularly happy either. Still, Tito took it as a win.

            “Hi Mat,” Tito said.

            “Hi,” Mat said.


End file.
